Teports have it that Zamfara State governor, Bello Matawalle, is expected to join the All Progressives Congress, APC, on June 29.
I’m not much familiar with the politics in Zamfara, but for those who have followed trends in 2019, they could understand that Matawalle got his way to government not by votes but by destiny and circumstances.
APC has remained very strong in Zamfara even after the tragedy that hit the party in the state. So, while Yari, Matawalle’s predecessor, and Muktar Koguna, the APC candidate in 2019, remain very relevant in the politics of the state even at the grassroots, the incumbent has been calculating his chances of winning a second term, which seems very narrow in PDP. He has to break into Yari’s camp and seek new political alliances.
Although that could be a serious threat to the likes of Marafa and Koguna, who would want to unseat him, but it could also be an advantage to Yari who is now eyeing the seat of the party’s national chairman. I believe Yari would love to have as strong backing as that of the governor of his state in his aspiration.
But governor Bello Matawalle is in trouble. His trouble is that; some kingmakers in PDP, who are also influential across the state, made him the party’s standard bearer in 2019. One of them is Gen. Ali Gusau Rtd. whose son, Mahdi Ali Gusau, ran with Matawalle as deputy governor. Gen. Gusau has always been in the PDP and he dictates the party in the state even as of today. His son, Mahdi, who should ideally follow his principal to the new party he intends to join, would never go. He would sit back in PDP. The idea is that; his father would want him to clinch PDP’s ticket in 2023 and face his principal on the battle field.
Matawalle may consider impeaching his deputy so as to have soft landing in his new party. But that will never work. Gen. Gusau has his boys in the House of Assembly who will always dance only to his tune. Securing the impeachment of Mahdi is going to be a gargantuan task for the governor. He might only waste his time and maybe resources.
The idea of Matawalle dissolving his entire cabinet was to save himself from being disgraced by some of the members. He knew that Gen. Gusau and some bigwigs of PDP loyal to Gusau in the state have significantly influenced the selection of his cabinet. So, if he should announce his defection while they are there, many of them would not be party to that because they owe allegiance to those who got them into offices not who approved and pronounced their appointments.
So I’m very much sure, his deputy, Mahdi Ali Gusau, would not and never join him. And the politics in Zamfara will become more interesting from the time this development unfolds.
Safiyanu Danladi Mairiga writes from Gombe.
